


No Ones Really Safe In These Streets

by StardustGay



Series: New In Town [2]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Glee
Genre: BAMF Kurt, Cheerelader Kurt, How do I change things without fixing everything???, Its also Xander's but shh too soon, Kinda, Kurt at home in comfy pajamas and messy hair is my sexuality, Kurt is Giles's Nephew, M/M, Multi, Past Cheerio!Kurt, Seer!Brittany, Slayer!Santana, Time Travel, Watcher!Kurt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2018-12-05 18:56:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11584113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StardustGay/pseuds/StardustGay
Summary: Moving in with your Uncle shouldn't be very difficult in theory. Of course Kurt Hummel's attending highschool four years after he was born, dealing with a teenage slayer -not that that's new- and trying to figure out why the hell he was here. Telling him he needed to stop an apocolypse is not very specific Brittany.Now he's got monsters of the week, knowledge that's outdated on his tests, apocolypses, inexperienced witches, and a cute dorky boy who seems to be a little too fond of him. Of course, it's not as teen comedy as this makes it sound. After all, he is fighting the forces of darkness





	1. Highschool in 1998

Kurt fusses with his hair, making sure the tall swoop is perfect. His eyes drift from his imaculate appearance to the photo stuck in his mirror. He takes in the dazzling outfits and smiling faces of last year's Sectionals and sighs. He looked even younger there, beaming at the camera with Brittany and Tina hanging off of him. He turns away from it and rechecks his outfit. It wasn't the only picture of the New Directions in his room, but it was a harsh reminder of where he was - starting Junior year at Sunnydale High.

"Kurt, we must be leaving. I know you have a thing about your appearance but we cannot be late!" Giles insists from outside his door.

Kurt calls out his understanding to his uncle and grabs his things.

"Sorry, Giles, it's just nerves. New school, new town. I've been here for a bit but I haven't actually met anyone but you."

Giles gives him an understanding nod, guiding him into the car. As they tend to do, they fall into silence on the ride. Kurt watches the scenery through the window, noticing again how nice the buildings here were compared to Lima. Sunnydale was a small town, but it was much larger than his hometown. Sunnydale High was larger than McKinley as well. Giles pulls into his parking spot in the staff lot and reminds Kurt to be good before setting out for the Library.

The crowd of teenagers is loud and cheerful, friends who've all grown up here, all know of each other. Kurt catches a bit of attention with his fashionable clothes - sleek and elegant while keeping with the times - and obviously new status. But he uses years of slipping through large groups of people to his advantage and makes it to his first class with little problem. Until he actually sits down.

"Oh, I do love new kids. Especially new kids as fashionable as you." An admittedly attractive girl sighs, slipping into the seat next to him. He takes in her stylish, form-fitting clothes and windblown dark hair. Likely a rich popular girl, and the easy confidence she has is a shock difference than the insecurities and anxieties of most high schoolers. A girl who knows her place then, and she is certain it's the very top.

"It's a gift and a curse. Though I must admit you are much better dressed than I expected from a small town. Then again, it is California," Kurt resonds, digging out his notebook and a pencil. He misses the way she peers into the bag as well, as if looking for something inside. He also misses the clear look of relief when she doesn't find anything.

"Of course, our last well-dressed new kid turned out to be a freak of nature. I'm hoping you're normal?"

He gives her an assessing look. "As normal as one can be I suppose."

............

After the lesson, he slips out to avoid the girl, but damn if she isn't persistent. The girl links arms with him in a way that is so similar to his girls back at McKinley that the fight whooshes out of him. He needs to start making friends, who knows how long he'll be here. That doesn't stop the niggling guilt that making friends here is betraying his girls back home.

"I'm Cordelia... and you?"

"Kurt. Is there a particular reason you latched onto me?"

She gives him a smile, seemingly pleased he knows she has an ulterior motive. Good, she likes them to have brain cells, that's promising.

"There's a thing here where if someone brings a cool person into popularity they get to rise up the food chain. Does that make sense?"

"So if you discover me and make me popular you get to ride my coattails up as well?"

She gives him a bright smile. "Exactly."

He nods in understanding, approaching his next class. "You seem like the type of girl to be running this school," he comments offhandedly.

Cordelia's expression darkens. "I used to. But continued acquaintance with the school's resident freak and her geek brigade dropped me considerably." She takes a deep breath and pastes a smile back on her face, a tactic Kurt has used more times than he can count. "So, you'll sit with me at lunch and we can discuss battle plans," she asks expectantly.

He sympathizes with the way she clings desperately to her mask and recognizes her need for popularity. She reminds him of a mix of Santana, Quinn and himself. It probably wouldn't hurt to have a good social standing again after being higher up there at McKinley. Being gay and in Glee stopped him from being super popular, but maybe it would be fun to see how high he could get in Sunnydale.

"I'm in."

............

"So, what activities did you do at your old high school?"

Kurt takes a bite of his yogurt as he watches Cordelia pick at her salad.

"I was in football briefly as their kicker, but that only lasted about four games before I quit. Then I became a cheerleader and that lasted the rest of the year. I was offered a spot back this year as head cheerleader but, you know, there was the move. I was also in the school's Glee club for two years as well as drama but the club didn't do much. Out of school activities are different."

Cordelia gives him a look that promises she both had plans and questions. She waved her hand as a signal for him to go on.

"Eleven years of ballet and seven years of voice and piano lessons." He shrugs, as if it was no big deal. And while he realizes it's quite a list, Kurt really only knew so much because he had always been curious. And bored. Which lead to being signed up for lessons and classes that led to clubs that led to friends and more activities and in the end, Kurt knew a lot. And he hadn'teven started on the skill set he gained being a Watcher.

Cordelia sets her fork down and leans over the table toward him.

"So what you're telling me is that you aren't only fashionable but athletic and talented, as well. Kurt, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."

He looks into her excited brown eyes and his lips curl into a smile. Well used to girls like her, he played along.

"So, what's in my agenda?"

"Cheerleading tryouts, of course."

He immediately became wary. Cheerleading? He should have seen the idea coming but....  
With a deep breath he steels himself and nods. Cheerleading is something has good at. And it's a good way to blend in. After discussing battle plans and exchanging numbers, he walks her to class and then moves in the direction of his French IV class, steps quick, eyes calculating and drawing attention. Hello, Sunnydale High, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.

...........

"Absolutely not!"

Kurt sighs and leans against the oven, quirking an eyebrow at his uncle. The kitchen was warm and the scent of peppers and spices as his fiesta chicken pasta finishes cooking. His mother's cookbook was open on the marble counter and the entire domestic scene was ruined as Giles responds angrily to Kurt's plans to join cheer and befriend Cordelia.

"I don't see the big problem. If I'm spending the next who knows how long here, I want to actually enjoy it. And I enjoy Cheerleading, even though I'm sure their coach won't even come close to my expectations. Coach Sue was batshit crazy but her ways got results in the form of six Nationals trophies."

"But putting yourself in a position where you are very noticible is dangerous."

Kurt puts down the rag he is wiping his hands off with and runs his fingers through his hair. "Not much more dangerous than anything else I can do. I'm not going to spend the next few years or so I'm here blending in just because it's easier for you. It's not who I am, and ultimately you don't get to make that decison for me. We agreed that other than supernatural business, I get to make my own decisions."

Both stare at each other, equally unhappy, until the yellow timer cheeps. Kurt turns away and starts scooping food onto plates, sticking a fork into each plate and pushing past Giles into the dinning room. Dinner is awkward but Giles seems appreciative of a home-cooked meal and his compliments help Kurt relax. When they're done eating, Kurt watches Giles gather things and head to his room to read up on something or other. Kurt sighs and continues washing the dishes, singing under his breath and trying to keep the soap bubbles away from his clothes.

He scrubs the dishes harshly, wishing Brittany had sent him with better information, or a plan. Something, anything, instead of sit and wait for a certain amount of time.  
   
The next two days are quiet for him, with Giles running around with Buffy. His Uncle had made it clear that Kurt should put off meeting the group as long as possible, and Kurt took the time to curl up in a chair with a good big tome of information. He hadn't had many chances to go through the Watcher's knowledge yet, hadn't had the time. And the fact that by 2010 most of these books have been lost, locked up, or destroyed. He was so engrossed in a tome about age-old prophesies, he didn't notice his pager going off to notify him the slayer was coming over. So when loud chatter and a door closing cut through his silence, he was still curled up in a comfy chair in his pajamas, a thick book open on his lap and no way to avoid the inevitable confrontation. Giles was going to be pissed.

The group of four stops dead at the sight of him in the living room, and Kurt takes a brief moment to put names to the faces. The tall gangly boy must be Xander. Kurt thinks he's run into him in the halls at Sunnydale but he's not certain. The geeky redhead is Willow, the practicing witch. And the Barbie doll slayer is Buffy. His breath hitches at the similarities between her and Brittany. A deep ache inside him stirs, reminding him that it's been two weeks since he last saw her. He prays she's okay, and looks away from the team slayer in hopes that the ache will settle again.

"Giles, I think you have a robber in your house." Xander says akwardly, hazel eyes trained on Kurt's rumpled form. He suddenly feels vulnerable in his soft, large brown sweater and yoga pants. He resists the urge to fix his messy hair.

"Who are you?" Buffy asks frankly, sounding drained but ready to fight despite that. Giles pinches the bridge of his nose and Kurt feels bad about how exhausted Giles looks, knowing that because he missed the page that were in for a long night.

"Sorry. I wasn't paying enough attention. I got distracted." Kurt says softly to Giles, closing the book.

"It's alright. It was bound to happen eventually. Buffy, Xander, Willow -  sit down. We should get you checked over and then we should probably discuss_"

"The boy in your living room that we've never met before," Willow pipes up helpfully. She and Xander sit but Buffy stays defensive. Kurt sits up, watching them warily.

"So, who the hell is he?"

"This is Kurt. He's, well, he's my nephew. He's come to live with me for the foreseeable future," Giles explains. Kurt snorts, but doesn't argue. Buffy catches it and narrows her eyes at him.

"Are you hurt?" Kurt asks Giles, changing the subject. He will inevitably be questioned tonight but he wants to check for injuries first. When Giles denies being hurt, Kurt stands up, taking ahold of his chin. Buffy tenses, but he ignores her, tilting Giles's head this way and that and checking his eyes. He's about to let him go, when he spots a bruise in his hair, a lump. He runs his finger gently over it, examining it.

"What's this?"

"Oh, Giles got knocked out," Willow informs him. He was really growing to like her.

"You stupid old fool! Are you trying to die?" Kurt scolds him, pinching his fingers around his ear and tugging him down into the chair he vacated. He sends a thankful smile towards Willow for the information before turning back to the older man. He notes their startled faces and the amusement glinting in Xander's eyes.

"If you get a whack to the head like this, you could have a concussion! Or something else! Do you know how many people croak in their sleep because they get a knock to the head and brush it off?!"

He looks into Giles's eyes, looking for disorientation or sensitivity to the light.

"Touch your nose. What's today's date? Are you feeling dizy, drowsy, foggy, nauseous? Are you unable to focus?" The questions come rapid-fire but he has to ask. Giles easily touches his nose.

"September 3rd, I feel fine and I am focusing as well as possible under your rapid questions. Stop mothering me," Giles answers grumpily . Kurt hears Xander laugh behind him.

"Do you have a headache?"

"I do now."

"I'm sorry, I get that you're family but where the hell did you come from? Why are you here?" Buffy butts in, seemingly frustrated with the change in attention.

"Ohio. My mother was Giles's little sister and due to a situation at home I was sent up here to finish highschool."

"You go to Sunnydale? What grade?" Willow asks, friendly. She leans tiredly against the tall boy, both dusty and showing signs of physical exhaustion. He wonders how much they train if their limbs are so weak that they are already trembling 

"11th. And from the looks of it everyone is about to pass out, so 20 questions can be answered at a later date. Please head home."

Kurt shoos them from the house and gets Giles to bed despite the man's grumbling.

Later, as Kurt is lying in bed, fingering the cord to the phone on his nightstand, he dreams of home


	2. Science Fairs and Handsprings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn was describing phones hard.

"You do realize bribing me with homework answers isn't going to work. I was in the top five of my high school class last year. "

"C'mon, Kurt, don't be so dramatic! It's not that big a deal!"

Kurt glares at her from across the table, arms crossed and bitch face on. He's leaned back in his chair, ignoring the babble of students around him and the twisting of his gut. Cordelia has a pleading face on, but there is an undertone of patronizing frustration.

"The fact that you left out the teensy detail of me being the only male to try out for the cheer team is a big deal, Cordelia. Do you know what being a lone male cheerleader will do to me? It will bring questions and looks and people prying. And all that leads to people figuring out I'm gay and me getting bashed in the locker room. On my old team, there were five other boys and I still got badly bullied," Kurt snaps, the big ball of bad in his stomach coming out as the words reveal more than he wants. He watches her flinch at the word 'bashed'.

While he honestly would love to be a cheerleader again, it just wasn't going to happen. He doubted any of the cheerleaders here would be close to what he's used to, he tells himself, hoping the gross feeling of being out of place wouldn't worsen before he could find something familiar.

"Kurt, I know that the rest of America is currently still very against the gay community but Sunnydale isn't like that. We have enough shit to worry about here; people couldn't care less who you want to bang. Some people will be uncomfortable, the jocks might hassle you a little but bullying, especially physical stuff, that won't happen." Kurt scoffs and Cordelia leans forward, very serious. "Kurt, we have a rule against bullying. Students may get away with cruel words and knocking into people in the halls but anything more than a slight shove can get kids into serious trouble."

He takes a deep breath, tense and feeling sick. He argued with Britt for days about being sent back in time when the LGBT community was still being treated badly in the 21st century. If he had had to go back much further, he could have been thrown in jail for his sexuality, spent a lifetime in prison if he ever even touched another man that way.

But she wasn't lying. His clothes were fairly boyish, due to the era not yet being comfortable pushing boundaries in daily lives and the fact that he couldn't stick out too much. But they were still tight, he still held himself and talked in a way that as the students of McKinely would have said, 'screamed gay'. And not once had anyone harassed him about it. There were a few looks but it ended there.

"I'll consider joining Cheer, but I can't guarantee I will," he accedes. Cordelia grins, letting out a little cheer. She stands, grabbing his hand and pulling.

"Great! Then after school, you can come to cheer practice with me and I'll ask Coach Witherspoon if you can try out!" He lets her tug him up from the chair and out of the lounge.

"But first... we get to sign up for the science fair!" Her enthusiasm is clearly fake but Kurt laughs, letting her pull him over to Willow and two boys. He stops laughing when he sees a sleazy-looking boy snapping photos of unwilling girls.

Cordelia grabs a sign-up sheet and scribbles down her name and project. "This sucks; I want everyone to know I am doing this in protest. It is not fair that they're making participation in this year's Science Fair mandatory. I don't think anyone should have to do anything educational in school if they don't want to," sheinforms the group. Willow leans over to read what she had written and her face screws up.

"The Tomato: Fruit or Vegetable."

Kurt stiffles a laugh, taking the board and writing down his own information. He misses the curious look Willow gives him at the clear signs of bidding friendship between him and Cordelia. Willow doesn't seem to know what to make of it.

"I wanted something I could finish in a weekend, alright?" A flash goes off, and Cordelia flinches away from the light. Kurt hears her protest and when another flash goes off, he steps forward and puts a hand over the lens.

"She said stop. You'd do well to remember that taking nonconsensual photos of women is a scumbag thing to do and if I see you doing it again, I'll break your camera," he threatens, leaning in close. It's a bit dramatic for the situation, but Kurt had spent a lot of time with attractive women. He knows if this guy thinks he can get away with taking pictures like these, the pictures will get more invasive in time.

The boy backs off, looking irritated but cowed for now. Cordelia seems surprised someone would stand up for her, and the skeezy boy's friend is staring at him in interest. The look makes Kurt's skin crawl, his senses screaming danger even though this boy doesn't look like the danger he usually faces.

Willow clears her throat, trying to ease the tension. "So, Kurt, 'A Look into Exhastion of The Human Body and How the Effects on Health are Different'? What's that going to be about?" He turns to her, finding her genuinely curious.

"There are three common types of ways your body can weaken and give out. Physical Extertion, Sleep Deprivation and Starvation/Dehydration. I want to look into how those three differ," he explains. "As I've had experienced with all three."

Willow looks startled, probably due to the information that he has passed out or crumpled more than once. He doesn't say anything, spotting Buffy shoving through the crowd. A picture is snapped of her before Kurt can stop it and the boy backs away from him, looking smug. He knows that if he goes for the camera now, Buffy will either jump to stop him from the attack or solidify her distrust in him. He can't either, which frustrates him.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt, Willow, but it's the Bat Signal."

Willow says goodbye to the taller one, Chris, before slipping through the crowd. Cordelia drags him off a second later.

"Where to this time," he asks, annoyed. When the library looms into focus, however, he stiffens. Giles usually held Scooby meetings here and if he gets in trouble for interupting he's going to get pissed.

"-bookmarked as a favorite place," he hears Willow say as the doors open and close.

"Hi. Sorry to interrupt your little undead playgroup, but I need to ask Willow if she'll help me with my science fair project." Kurt blinks, realizing this means Cordelia knows about the supernatural. How the hell did that happen? She wasn't a 'scooby'. Why didn't Giles inform him she knew? How many other people was he not aware of?

"It's a fruit." Willow replies dryly, and Kurt is pleasantly surprised. He kinda pegged her for someone who's always sweet and ready for help, a pushover.

Cordelia ignores her and continues speaking. "Kurt says he has enough on his plate and I would've asked Chris to help me, but then that would've brought back too many memories of Daryl."

"I found it! Meredith Todd died in a car accident last week," Willow exclaims, before swiveling to look at Kurt nervously. Smart girl, never assume anyone knows about the supernatural until they explicitly mention it.

"Expected foul play? Any marks on the body, the neck?" He gives her a knowing smile to set her at ease, though the smile is twisted and the familiar weight of sorrow twists lightly around him. Human death doesn't stop impacting someone, though it numbs after a long time working at this.

"The neck was broken but it all looks like a natural accident," she responds. Giles comes out of his office and notices Kurt, appearing startled for a moment.

"Hello? Can we deal with my pain, please?" Cordelia grumps, grimacing when Giles pats her shoulders as he passes by.

Kurt listens idly to them throw out ideas, not offering any help but noticing the looks sent towards him. He was given directions to stay out of their business for a while, and if he paid too much attention he'd want to help. Eventually, a comment makes Cordelia stomp out, and when Kurt doesn't follow her she scowls and mentions after school before continuing out of the library.

"What's after school?" Xander asks. "Doesn't Cordy have practice?" Kurt notes the lack of interrogating tone and casualness of the question. So both Xander and Willow have dismissed him as a threat. He doesn't know whether to be relieved or dissapointed.

"She does. I'm going with her to see if the coach will let me try out."

Xander laughs but when Kurt just stared at him he realizes he isn't joking. "A male cheerleader? Really? C'mon, why go through all that work just to perv on girls?"

Kurt frowns, annoyed. "Excuse me? I was a cheerleader back at my old school. In fact, I took us to Nationals and was being considered for Head Cheerleader before I left."

Giles looks grumpy, still displeased he wants to try out, and Xander looks baffled. Willow looks as supportive as usual and Buffy still looks suspicious. What a group.

"Where are you from exactly?" She clearly is not giving up.

Kurt rolls his eyes. Oh, fun; interrogation time again. He knows where this is going.

"Lima, Ohio. Tiny town, tiny high school, tiny-minded people. I lived with my father, Burt Hummel, his wife Carole and her son Finn. I was a part of my school's Glee Club and Cheerleading team. I just finished my sophmore year at William McKinley High," He listed off, perching on a table and staring them down. He raises an eyebrow. "Anything else?"

"Where are you really from?"

"Buffy!" Willow scolds, seeming shocked at her friend. But Buffy doesn't apologize, doesn't even blink in her stare. Kurt's lips twist into a smirk and he holds back laughter. "I can't believe you would accuse him of lying! He's Giles's family!"

"No, she's right. What tipped you off? Slayer senses tingling?"

Xander and Willow seemed shocked, while Giles gives him a look asking if he's sure. He is; lying leaves room for mistakes and slip ups, flaws in his stories and that would lead Buffy to become even more suspicious. That could be dangerous for him. Time for the truth.

"So you just lied to us ... and you admit it five seconds after," Xander says, a strange look on his face.

"No, nothing I said was a lie. I only withheld information. I did just finish my sophmore year, In the year 2010."  
   
Xander wants to sit down. He wants to sit down and never get back up because this tiny boy perched on a table just shook his entire world. Time travel. Dealing with vampires and demons was one thing, but time travel??!!

"You're kidding, right?" He laughs nervously, shifting his feet. Giles is quiet, a serious look on his face while Willow seems simultaneously excited and nauseous. Buffy hasn't moved, still tense and on guard in front of Kurt.

Who wasn't laughing. Just looked dead serious and kinda hauty, like nobility looking down on peasants.

"Please tell me you're kidding," Xander says weakly.

"'Fraid not. Here, I have proof." He says, grabbing his bag and rummaging through it until he pulls out a sleek, flat, shiny screen with plastic backing. "This is my cell phone. Compared to yours, mine is like alien tech. I can take pictures on either side, access the Internet, play games, download applications, make calls and text.. the list goes on."

Kurt presses a button on the side of his phone and the screen lights up, showing a lifelike quality picture of Kurt and two girls. He slides his fingers across the surface and it makes a click sound, the screen moving. A new picture appears, one of Kurt posing with a tall brunet who was wearing a football jersey while Kurt wore a red top. Cheerleading uniform maybe? Icons were along the bottom of the screen and when he swiped the phone, a bunch of icons covered the picture.

Willow jumps up and crowds closer, while Buffy backs away, wide eyed. Giles steps in and pushes the phone away down, sending Willow a look.

"Now I hope you all understand Kurt cannot answer every question you have. Nor may he have answers to it. And as the lunch bell is about to ring, you'll have to wait to ask more."

Willow grumbles and Buffy relaxes at the realization that Giles already knew all this. Of course, he's sure she's also wondering why. Why here, why now, why him?

It's a thought that plagues him as everyone gathers their things and Kurt leaves, his stride confident and his head held high. He's seen Cordelia do the same strut a thousand times but he has a feeling Kurt knew it before meeting her. He already knew how to walk like you owned the place.

"The future! Wow!" Willow's eyes are bright with excitement but he can see the fear that all three are feeling. The same fear he had felt after being faced with proof of vamps a year ago. The fear of the unknown.

"Wonder who those hot girls were in his picture?" Xander jokes, trying to lighten his own emotions. The girls had been pretty, though - a soft, sweet-looking blonde and a fierce, predatory looking Latina. He recognizes the fiery look from back during the hyena possession. The girls in his pack had a bit of it. Screamed dangerous. Wild. And Kurt had looked beyond happy in the picture with them. At ease in a way Xander hasn't seen, not even when the slip of a boy was with Cordelia.

"Maybe one of them was his girlfriend. I think it might be the blonde, he seemed to gravitate towards her in the picture," Willow suggests.

"I think it's the opposite, he seemed very aware of the other girl. More protective and stuff," Buffy says. Xander feels like he swallowed a slime ball at the thought of Kurt dating either girl.

......

After school, Xander stops by the gym where the cheerleaders are practicing. He can see Kurt and Cordelia talking to the coach, Kurt in red shorts, only a bit longer than the girls', and a white shirt with red writing on the back with a last name Xander doesn't think is his.

A few minutes later, the cheerleaders are standing along the edges, most looking annoyed and skeptical as Kurt stands in the center. Cordelia hits play on a radio and Kurts starts.

Xander can't take his eyes off of the lean boy nor can he close his mouth as Kurt does complex moves and stunts to the song, moving gracefully, the unrelated stunts flowing together. He stops breathing when Kurt finishes with a double backhandspring and an easy split. The girls are similarly floored and Kurt looks smug. No one is surprised when the coach announces he made the team. Xander has never seen a cheer routine that difficult.

......

"I'm telling you, the guy is impressive. He could probably hold his own in a fight," Xander calls from the grave, wiping a dirty hand across his sweaty forehead. Buffy and Willow peer over the corner and him and Giles, pausing in their gossip. He didn't really care about Darryl, the 'hunky' football player who died after stealing Cordelia's heart. He didn't really care about Cordelia at all. But his body aches from digging up this grave, and he feels like throwing up knowing he was either going to open that coffin to find more missing dead girls or to find a rotting corpse. 

"That makes him dangerous, doesn't it? I mean - why is he here?" Buffy argues.

"He is here to help out with future problems. He was told by a seer that he would be needed here with us, and almost nothing else," Giles sighs, tired of listening to Buffy voice her suspicions.

"But how do we know he is telling the truth?!"

"Because he has a picture of him and my sister and a handwritten note from people I trust saying so."

"Who?"

"The Watchers Council!"

"He could have forged it!" The Slayer insists.

"For God's sake, Buffy, I did a damn DNA spell and a truth spell! Stop questioning my judgment!" Giles snaps.

Buffy shuts up and Xander wonders why that pleases him the way it does. But Xander never really suspected the guy was bad. The first time he saw Kurt in clothes too big for him, with a startled and apologetic look in his eyes, he could only think of someone lost. Someone who needed help.

Though from the display earlier, Kurt just may be able to kick his ass.

Xander feels his shovel hit the solid coffin and puts Kurt from mind.  
......  
   
After the girls had left for the night, Kurt stayed by the entrance of the gym talking to Coach Witherspoon. After politely declining wearing a skirted uniform, he informs her he can make shorts and pants to match the top. After saying goodbye, he starts to head out into the night, when he sees a frightened Cordelia approaching, clinging to a strange man's arm. Kurt tenses, hand itching to grab the stake hidden in his bag, and his eyes following the big, dark man Cordelia clung to.

"Hey! Are you okay," he asks, eyebrows furrowed in worry as his hands tighten on the strap of his bag. The night is eerily silent and all the sounds of the other girls are gone, leaving the three of them and a heavy atmosphere. "Who is this?"

"Oh god, Kurt, we found the dead girls! They were chopped up and left in a dumpster and I laid on them!" She is shaking and Kurt sucks in a breath while the older man watched him warily. He quickly shoves the image out of his head, and decides that they need to address that with Giles. Kurt really doesn't want to deal with teen body parts.

"Giles texted me saying that he's heading back to the library with the others," Kurt tells them. "We can wait for him there." He turns on heel and they follow but Kurt can hear whispering between them. In the dimly-lit library, everyone sits and Kurt finally adresses the man.

"You're looking at me like you have questions. Well, go ahead then." He waved a hand, signalling for the broody man to get on with it. The man was taken aback. Kurt can tell the man doesn't like the way he phrased it, as if giving him permission to speak.

"Who are you? How do you know Cordelia and Giles? And about the bodies?"

"I'm Kurt, Giles's nephew. I recently moved in with him, but I've known about the supernatural for quite a while. There's a family in my street that isn't quite human. Cordelia and I are on the cheerleading squad together and we both learned about the girls by walking into the middle of a meeting about them."

"This is Angel, he's a good guy. Older, but friends with Buffy," Cordelia explains, shaky and latched onto Angel but still coherent and fully there. Kurt feels shakey too, finding it hard to breathe. But he stares at the older man to distract himself, searching through his memory for any mention of an Angel when it hits him.

Kurt sits up straighter in recognition and aims a cruel smile at the vampire - he remembered reading about the scourge of Europe. It had fasinated him - but before he could say anything, the doors swing open. Angel sends him a wary look before standing, addressing Buffy.

Kurt keeps his eyes on the dirt-smeared Xander, who was goofing off with Willow. It was nice to see them smile before the situation wipes the good feelings from them.


	3. Foreign Exchange and Foreign Exchanges

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Last time I updated I said I was going to rewrite but in the end I decided I liked it better like this than anything else I came up with. So this story will continue. I know it isn't very popular, especially compared to the rest of my fics, but if you could even leave a short comment telling me if you enjoy this story I would be so grateful. In other news, I posted a prequel to this story. It's a broad one shot overview of Kurt's life before he traveled back, and while it doesn't expand too much on anything most of it will be expanded in this story. I am considering writing actual one shots for the Glee World before he came back, but I'm not sure.

Kurt was frustratingly kept out of the entire investigation and ensuing fight, only finding out afterwards what had been going on, from Cordelia.

The two boys from the science day had been frankensteining a bride for Chris's dead older brother, Darryl who Chris had sickeningly revived in his partly rotting corpse. They had made the body out of the dead girls that had been going missing but needed a fresh head, and Darryl had decided Cordelia's head was best. Kurt was furious when he saw how it had messed Cordelia up, her kidnapping. But like any popular girl worth a dime, Cordelia had impressive masks and a strong ability to pretend everything was fine.

"What are you wearing?"

Kurt glares at the scandalized looking girl, body slouched on the couch and an empty coffee mug on a pile of books next to him.

"Well this lovely color is called I slept like crap last night so don't piss me off."

Cordelia rolls her eyes and leans against a bookshelf, an eyebrow raised and her arms crossed. She looks unimpressed at his snark, but her eyes take in his tornado blown hair and the bags under his eyes.

"What crawled into your panties last night?"

"Incan Mummies. Giles has me doing research on the one that went missing. Well, mostly he has me doing research on translating the pictograms. I have to admit, it's better then when I didn't have to do much with the frankenzombies." He sighs, standing up. Its early, and he knows he has to get ready and get to school. But the exhaustion in his bones reminds him that despite being a Watcher he had never done the job on a hellmouth. And hellmouth hours are 24/7.

Cordelia pushes away from the bookshelf and walks with him into his bedroom before he can stop her. She wanders over to a group of photographs of the New Directions, clearly noticing the high tech look of them and the strange way they were dressed. He holds his breath but she doesn't mention it.

"These girls are beautiful. And all over you." She points out instead, a manicured nail searching out and pressing against Santana. He moved to look at the photo. Santana, Quinn, Brittany and him were at the beach and were taking a stupid photo. He smiles fondly at the memory.

"Beautiful girls tend to do that. Haven't figured why yet but I'm hoping someday I can get it to work for handsome boys as well." He jokes, moving to get dressed.

"Looks like you got those too. Some of these boys are major cuties. And you seem to have quite a few more with the tall brunet one then the super beefy one or the dancer asian." She points out teasingly, looking at the pictures of him and Finn. Two were from competitions, one from family game night, and one was of then on the football field after a victorious game. All of them had the brothers grinning and laughing. He pauses in taking off his shirt, fingers clenching in the material. Despite the photos literally everywhere, it was getting harder by the day to remember his friends. It hurt too much. And the house he shared with Giles felt empty and cold when he remembered to warmth of his family.

"Speaking of cute boys, how's Sven?" He says, strained. She seems to notice the topic change, but thankfully doesn't comment on it. Instead she describes the exchange student she was so excited to meet. She was honestly dissapointed to find that language barriers made conversation near impossible.

"Do you know what he speaks? I might be able to translate for you?"

"Swedish I suppose. He is from Sweden."

"I dont speak swedish, but the basis of the language is similar enough to dutch he might be able to understand that. And then I can probably infer what he's saying." Kurt suggests, smoothing out his simple shirt and jacket. Cordelia smiles approvingly and tosses his bag at him.

"Where the hell did you learn dutch?"

"Books mainly. I also know French, Italian, Latin, a bit of German, and conversational Spanish. Also pretty much every swear word in Spanish but Santana insisted it was essential."

Cordelia looks gobsmacked as they make way to her car, and Kurt smirks to himself in amusement. It was almost funny, how little people expected of him.

Sven is tall and broad and blonde and looks majorly uncomfortable. When he meets Kurt's eyes he looks grumpy, and his expression doesn't lighten as they both slide into the front seat. Never one to give up, he buckles himself in before twisting to face the teen.

"Hoi, Hoe gaat het met u? Ik heet Kurt Hummel, Ik spreek geen Zweedse. Ik hoop dat u kunnen bavatten mij?" Kurt trys. Sven's eyes widen. So do Cordelia's.

"Ik begrijp, en ik ben het gaat. Ik spreek Nederlands en Engels! Although Cordelia seems to assume I am an idot." Sven says, finishing in english. Cordelia gapes at the glare he sends her way. Kurt gives her a dirty look as well.

"I assumed you'd be able to speak english, considering you were going to be going to school here, but Cordelia says you didn't know a bit." 

"I thought he didn't!" She protests.

"She didn't even try. I automatically greeted her in swedish without thinking and she assumed. Now she talks to me like a brain dead dog!" He complains in a heavy accent. Cordelia slumps down in the driver seat.

"Yes well, Cordelia can be a bitch," Kurt says.

"That sounds like me." She agrees weakly, but Kurt wasn't done.

"Despite this, she was incredibly excited to meet you. And though she often acts without thinking I was hoping if you would still like to hang out with us." Kurt finishes, giving Sven a charming smile. "After all, you'll be able to go home and boast about immedietly befriending the schools best cheerleaders."

Sven laughs, realising Kurt was teasing. Cordelia starts up the car and the leave towards school, conversation much easier and fun.

They walked into school together, Kurt hounding Sven on Sweden's sights and nature while Cordelia wanted to know about their fashion and sports. Sven was grinning now, much happier than the gruff boy in the car. They were heading to Kurt and Cordelia's shared first hour when they bumped into the main Scooby trio, trailed by a beautiful Peruvian girl wearing clothes he recognised as Buffy's.

"Oh! Hey Kurt!" Willow greets him, looking genuinly pleased to see him. Xander waves but Buffy just gives him an akward smile. He noticed how all three ignore Cordelia.

"Hey Willow. Is the new girl yours or one of the others?" He asks, flicking his eyes over to give a smile towards the shy looking girl. 

"Oh, This is Ampata. She's Buffy's exchange student." Xander chimes in, giving the attractive girl a dopey grin. Ampata holds her hand out to him and he takes it easily, giving her a friendly grin.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Kurt. I'm assuming you speak English? If not I could repeat myself in Spanish? Entiende? Hablas inglés?"

"I speak English, but thank you for making sure!" She gives him a broad smile, looking honestly pleased. "It's nice to meet you as well Kurt."

"I just love your hair. How do you keep it so shiny?" He comments.

"It's...an old family secret."

"Kurt, who are you guys walking with?" Willow asks, cutting in. Kurt drops Ampata's hands, and turns to feature to Sven.

"This is Sven, he's Swedish and Cordelia's echange student." He introduces. Sven waves, looking up from where he and Cordelia had quietly continued their conversations.

"Zijn deze vrienden van jou?" He asks.

"Ja, dit zijn mijn vrienden. We zijn echter niet dichtbij." Kurt replies casually, ignoring the looks everyone around him was giving him.

"Kurt, we're going to be late if we don't get a move on!" Cordelia prompts, giving a false smile to the group across from them. Kurt startles a bit, realising she's right.

"I'll see you all later than. It was a pleasure to meet you Ampata." He says goodbye before allowing Cordelia to hussle them to first period. He doesn't notice the long look Xander gives him as they walk away, too caught up in Sven's dry wit and Cordelia's enthusuasm.

The next time he sees Ampata it's After school, and she and Xander are flirting on the bleachers. It's one of the last warm day's before fall really hits and Coach Witherspoon was convinced to let them practice outside for once. It fills Kurt with nostalgia, watching practice run its fours on a long green football field, a snickering girl with dark hair making nasty comments in his ear. For a second he looks over and Cordelia's skin is darker, body curvier. The uniform replaced by tight polyester red and white. But he blinks and everything's back to normal. His smile becomes fake and brittle, and he suddenly wishes to be home.

Cordelia doesn't notice, and he doesn't know whether to be dissapointed or relieved. _His_ girls would have noticed.

He takes a deep breath and throws himself back in to the simple routine. He needs to stop comparing his past and present. It only makes him upset.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoi, Hoe gaat het met u? Ik heet Kurt Hummel, Ik spreek geen Zweedse. Ik hoop dat u kunnen bavatten mij? -Hi, how are you? My name is Kurt Hummel. I don't speak Swedish. I hope that you can understand me?
> 
> Ik begrijp, en ik ben het gaat. Ik spreek Nederlands en Engels! - I understand, and I am alright. I speak Dutch and English!
> 
> Entiende? Hablas inglés? - Understand? Do you speak English?
> 
> Zijn deze vrienden van jou? - Are these friends of yours?
> 
> Ja, dit zijn mijn vrienden. We zijn echter niet dichtbij. -Yes, there are my friends. We aren't close though.
> 
> All translations are done through a mix of English-Dutch dictionaries and google translate so we likely not accurate. Sorry, I take French. If any of my followers are upset at how wrong it is and speak the language, feel free to correct me.


	4. Past Hauntings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back from the dead bitches, thought you've seen the last of me!
> 
> I love writing this, but I have other fics in larger fandoms that are pretty popular, so this tends to and up my lad priority. Sorry!! Hope someone likes this.

"So Kurt," Giles starts, setting his fork down and gazing up at him. Kurt hums to let him know he's listening but doesn't look up from the dusty tomb in his lap, dinner nearly finished on the table.

"Parent Night is this Friday…," Giles coughs, "And as your guardian I am expected to attend. However if this idea makes you uncomfortable I could make an excuse perhaps…?"

Kurt stiffens, finally looking up to where Giles was sitting akwardly, unsure on how to go about this conversation. Parent's Night, when his parents would be told all about his high grades, good attitude, and Coach Witherspoon would wax poetics about him. Except he had no parents, none he could ask to come. None he was certain to see again.

Giles wasn't much of a parent. Perhaps for the scoobies he was, but Kurt was mature beyond his years and already used to taking care of himself. Giles was really just like a roomate who occasionally could tell him what to do. But the idea of going to Parent Night alone, the way the teachers would smile at him with pity and the students would watch him..he'd rather not. He had had enough of that the first few years after his mother's death.

"That's fine. But won't you be busy with preparations for The Night of Saint Vigeous?" Kurt says casually, fingers playing with the corner of his page.

"I'm sure I can do both. After all, Buffy is."

Kurt holds back a laugh. It's It's bitter, pain filled sound and he was glad it didn't escape. "Buffy isn't very good at multi-tasking. My slayer was in a club, a sport, a relationship, and still managed to attend school more often than not, managing average grades."

Giles's lips tighten and he gives Kurt a long look. "What are you trying to say?"

He sighs, feeling all the thoughts he's had about the slayer bubble up under his skin, akwardness and pain and stress shifting quickly to be hostile.

"What I'm saying is my slayer was prepared for her duty. Not with training or knowledge or anything of the sort, but with real life expiriences, a long history of fighting, and having grown up long before she gained her abilities. On the other hand, Buffy was still a spoiled little rich girl when she got hers and her greatest problems were not being able to buy the shoes she wanted or her crush not liking her back. Buffy was forced to suddenly grow up rapidly and handle more responsibility than she would be ready for by her adult years. Buffy wasn't used to responsibility and lies and conflicts and living another life. She wasn't ready to be a Slayer, and in a desperate attempt to continue her old fabulous, care free life she hinders her ability to ever be a good one."

They sit in silence for a while, Giles torn between defending his Slayer and admitting Kurt had a point. Kurt knows he does, he wasn't just lashing out with half thought out ideas. These are things that have been swirling around his head for a while now, the thoughts that drown out his grief when he can't sleep and the house is silent. Its best to keep his mind busy these days.

Kurt closes his book, shoulders slumped and face tired. "Buffy is a nice girl, she's very protective of her friends. She has so much potential, she just won't move forward to reach it. And a good majority of her inability to have a normal side life is her own fault." He stands, picking up his plate and book and leaving the table towards the kitchen. "I'm tired, I'm going to finish my homework and head to bed."

Kurt hears Giles call out a quiet, "Goodnight." He doesn't respond.

  
"Hummel! What are you wearing?" Coach Witherspoon asks loudly from her spot near the bleachers. Kurt pauses in his warm ups and blinks at her before tugging at the oversized gym shirt he is wearing.

"Sorry Coach, my uniforms at home in the wash!" He calls back, thinking about the bloodsplattered uniform in the laundry room. "I'll be in it again by tomorrow!"

"You better be!" She says, not unkindly but still stern. Coach Witherspoon was as uptight as Giles sometimes, but she was warm when she needed to be and like Coach Sue honestly cared about her Cheerleaders.

He returns to his warm ups, a little more aware of his outfit now. It was what he had always worn to exercise in at the Pierces, one of Finn's giant football shirts and a pair of girls exercise shorts Santana had bought him as a joke. However they were better for fighting in then the loose boy shorts so he had ended up with a few pairs.

"Hey, I just realized that the name on the shirt isn't yours." Cordelia comments, eyebrows furrowed as she leaned back to see the white block letters that loudly spelled HUDSON. "The names were similar enough I guess I didn't notice."

"Oh, that's because this was originally Finn's shirt. But he has like twenty of them so I stole it." Kurt replies.

"Ooooo, which one of the boys on your wall is he?" She asks teasingly, eyes bright with mischief.

"The really tall brunet. He's the Titan's Quarterback and Dad thinks he'll get into a good college on a scholorship." He says proudly, thinking back to the way Finn's face had lit up at the thought.

"How long were you two dating? Did you break up before the move or are you in a long distance thing?" She looks positively delighted with the prospect, and Kurt nearly chokes on his breath.

"We were not dating!" He corrects quickly, voice high and embarrassed. "He's my step-brother!"

Cordelia's mouth falls open and she looks almost as embarrassed as Kurt. "I am so sorry, you don't talk about Ohio very often, I had no idea you had a brother!" She apologizes.

He gives her a smile but it's a bit forced. "It's okay, let's just get back to practice alright?"

Kurt felt a little bad about not telling Cordelia about who he really was, but from what he's seen Cordelia was less accustomed to the strange and supernatural, and had a much bigger reaction to it. He knew she was suspicious about him, due to his inconsistencies and strange high tech stuff, but despite being nosey and blunt girl she hasn't yet questioned him.

He resolves to tell her soon, he kept a lot of secrets from his friends back in Lima, and he wasn't keen on repeating the expirience.

"Okay girls- and Kurt- let's pratice our hand springs and then we'll move on to splits. You'll all be able to do them by the time I'm done with you."

There was no resounding "Yes Coach!" and he catches himself before he falls into the familiar habit. This wasn't Coach Sue, and they weren't treated like an army. It was just good old fashioned fun. They were not going to be verbally beaten or worked until they fainted. These girls made mistakes often and didnt see cheerleading as their life.

He feels crazy realising he misses Coach Sue and the Cheerios.

  
"Do you need a hand Ms. Calendar?" Kurt asks, both amused and worried as he watches the woman struggle with heavy weapons. She blows a stubborn lock of hair out of her face and gives him a smile.

"No offense Kurt but I don't think you'll be able to carry this."

He quirks an eyebrow and steps forward, grabbing the huge mace and with only a little struggle moving it to his shoulder. Its heavy but his arms are quite strong. Cheerios and carrying unconscious teens while running through cemeteries would do that to a boy.

Ms. Calendar looks sheepish and murmers and apology but he just waves her off, well used to being underestimated. She heads back into the book cage and he carries the weapon down to the others.

Theyre all pretending to be at ease but he can see the tension in them. Good, threats should always be taken seriously, especially if they're warned about them. Willow uses him as a distraction from an akward conversation and he gives Buffy and Angel a long look. Of course he had to watch a real life Twilight happen right in front of him. When will high school girls learn that there is such thing as too old?

And then he's gone and she's staring longingly at the door he dissapeared out, and he kinda wants to be sick.

"Angel seems to know this Spike well. Maybe they used to be friends before his soul was regained." Kurt suggests, looking over at Giles.

"Yes, perhaps. Buffy has he mentioned to you any Vampires before?"

Buffy fidgets. "Well, no. We don't talk about his past."

"Are you telling me you're hanging out with a Vampire you know nothing about?" Kurt asks, a bit harsh. She lifts her chin challengingly and glares at him. And now she went from bashful teen to defensive, great. He feels like his life is one giant mood swing being here.

"I know Angel. You however, how much do any of us know about you?"

He rolls his eyes and suddenly feels like an adult arguing with a child. "At we really going to do this again? Seriously?"

When she continues to glare at him he lets out a harsh breath and walks closer to her.

"What do you want Buffy? My entire life story laid out in front of you? Am I supposed to sit down and tell you every thought go in on in my head ever? Would you trust me then" He asks, voice hard.

She opens her mouth to reply, but he cuts her off.

"How are you supposed to know me if you never try to? We're you this suspicious of Angel, of Giles? How about Xander and Willow, did they get this treatment? No, they didn't did they. Just me, even though I nearly immedietly told you who I was and why I was here." Kurt gives a frustrated sigh, looking away from the quiet girl and the shocked group. He closes his eyes, breaths for a moment, and leaves the library.

"What is your beef with him Buff?" Xander asks seriously, no accusations in his tone but no humor either.

"I..I don't trust him. Sudden new kids haven't ever been good news for us, and he seems just a little too good at everything."

"You were good news. And far more suspicious." Willow points out.

"But that's different!" She argues.

"How?"

Buffy doesn't seem to have a response.

"Look Buff, I don't know Kurt very well. But he seems nice and like he wants to help. I've never seen him be mean to anyone and Cordelia's even been nicer since they became friends. I can't see the negatives." Xander pipes up, leaning against the table.

"You don't have to like him, but please cut him some slack. Kurt puts on a strong face but this isnt easy for him. He's suddenly decades in the past leaving behind everything he knows and loves. Don't make life any harder for him." Giles finally says, before picking up a book and changing the subject.

All three teens are subdued for the rest of the night.

  
The next day he sharpens stakes expertly, careful not to break a nail or accidentally cut himself. Xander had tiny slices crisscrossing his hands and Cordelia wasn't holding either the stake or the knife right.

Buffy had just rushed out of the library, looking a panicked mess. He felt a bit bad for the girl but was too busy trying to ignore the tight feeling in his chest to care much.

"My mother's going to be here soon, you can't keep me locked up all night." Cordelia complains.

"Ah, yes. I forgot…you can all leave when your parents arrive of course." Giles says, looking as if he had honestly forgetten they had parents.

Willow leaves nearly immedietly but Xander just keeps sharpening intently, hands clenched tight around the objects he holds. Cordelia leaves next about ten minutes later, only bothering to say goodbye to Kurt. Sometimes he wonders why she hangs out with the hang if she hates them.

Minutes tick by and they continue preparations in silence until Kurt checks the clock and realizesthat if he's going to have Giles talk to his teachers he needs to go now. Except Xander's still whiddling stakes with a look of intense concentration.

"Xander. Your parents not here yet?" Kurt askes, voice casual but kind. Kurt realizes he doesn't even know if Xander has parents, let alone whether they're the type to come to school functions.

The akward laughter that Xander let's out confirms his worries. Xander scratches his neck with the hand he isn't holding the knife with, refusing to meet Kurt's eyes.

"Nah, they're not coming. Busy, you know?"

Kurt gives him a gentle smile. "Yeah, I know what that's like. Dad used to miss school functions because he got tied up at work. But me and Giles have to scoot to meet my teachers, you okay being in here alone for a while?"

Xander nods, flashing a laid back smile that's tenser than Kurts sure he realizes. Kurt doesn't want to leave him alone, but they don't really have a choice. Maybe if he can get Xander out of the library…

"You could come with us. Pretend Giles is your dad. I bet you 10 bucks no teacher questions it." He suggests, hopping off the table he was sitting on and setting his knife down. Giles gives him a confused look, but Xander smiles, just a small quirk of his lips, and even if he turns Kurt down it's worth it.

Xander sets his own knife down, twirling the stake he had just finished idly before shoving it in his pocket. "Sure, I think having Giles as a dad would be cool."

Kurt laughs, opening the library doors. "Giles struggles to take care of himself, I doubt he could raise a child."

Giles splutters behind him, but Xander chuckles and any tension that had been there dissapated. Most of the teachers and students were gone, but they manage to catch Xander's math teacher, who tells them that Xander is a fast learner but his short attention span and lack of effort was his downfall. Xander scowls, and Kurt is quick to drag them off. He spots Madamn Shea and heads her way, calling out an enthusiastic greeting.

"Bonjour, Madame, comment ça va?"

She waves at them, meeting them halfway. "Monsieur Hummel, Bonjour. It's a pleasure to see you, is this your father?"

He gives her a tight smile. "No, this is my Uncle. Do you have a moment?"

"For my favorite student? Always. Mr. Giles, you have a very brilliant boy here. Walks into my class on his first day and starts speaking the most beautiful french." She compliments, resting a hand on Kurt's shoulder. Giles clears his throat, looking slightly pleased.

"Yes, Kurt is quite advanced for his age."

"So I've heard. Every teacher I've brought him up to had had great things to say about him. Except Mrs. Brody, your home ec. teacher." She gives him an amused look. Kurt huffs, propping a hand on his hip.

"That old hag tried to humiliate me on the first day, thinking that because I was a bit I wouldn't be able to cook. I told her I could and when she challenged me I whipped up millie-feuille that could make a French mother cry the very next class. She's been out for me since." He explains, ignoring the baffled expression on Xander's face. Madame Shea laughs, head tilting back and everything.

They chat for a few more minutes until Madame has to leave, and seeing the lack of teachers Kurt sends Giles and Xander back to the library. He heads off to find Cordelia when there's a loud, head splitting crash. There's stillness for a moment, as Spike cockilly speaks to Buffy, before everyone is running and screaming. Kurt sprints off after Cordelia and Willow, who he can see dodging the crowd and hurrying down a hallway. Everyone's running and screaming, and Kurt sees a vampire grab Cordelia.

He grabs the stake in his boot and dusts the vamp quick, just as Willow moves to grab the bust of Principal Flutie. Another vamp is hot on their trail and they start running again, both girls obviously distressed.

Kurt tugs them into a janitorial closet, and closes the door behind them, stiffiling Willow's heavy breathing with a hand as footsteps storm past them. After a few minutes of quiet they all relax, and Cordelia throws her arms around him, hugging him tightly. He returns the embrace, stroking her hair like he used to strike Brittany's.

"I'm so glad you had a stake." Willow whimpers, pressed against the back wall and visibly pulling herself together. She brushes some of her red hair behind her ear, hands trembling.

"I always carry one. You should to, especially considering you have no training." Kurt responds, tucking the stake back into his boot after blowing the dust off of it. Cordelia moves back, wiping her eyes for stray tears and leaning against the wall herself.

"That might be a good idea." Willow agrees, nodding. There's quiet a moment, and Kurt strains to hear outside. The closet wasn't the best place to defend, but if someone opened it they would be vulnerable for at least a moment, and Kurt might be able to fight them off of he catches them by surprise.

"I wonder how everyone is doing." Willow says softly, looking worriedly at the ground where her feet were tapping together.

"I doubt Buffy's going to be taken out this easily. She's young but she has good instincts. And Xander and Giles were in the library, which is easy to fortify and defend." Kurt muses, still alert to any danger that could be nearby.

Cordelia has slipped down to sit on the floor, trembling softly with her eyes closed. Willow looks at him in confusion, lips pouring down and brows furrowing.

"You say Buffy's young like you aren't. You're our age aren't you?" She asks. Kurt looks at her in surprise, not expecting her to look that deep in his comment.

"Yes, but I've been doing this for years. Since I was 12, actually. I've honed my body and mind to do this since then, and it comes naturally to me. She isn't used to this life yet, not after only a year." Kurt explains, causing both girls to look at him in shock.

"12?" Cordelia asks, voice high pitched with disbelief. Kurt slides down the wall and settles in, smiling at the girls.

"My best friend was a seer, her parents were normal like us but they fought the supernatural to keep her safe. When I found out at twelve I started training with them to protect her." Kurt explains, remembering a small Brittany running around her yard giggling, dressed in overalls.

"A seer? That's amazing! Is she the seat that sent you back?" Willow asks, fear replaced by wonder. Cordelia frowns though, and Kurt feels guilty for not telling her sooner.

"Yeah, she saw that I was needed here. She didn't like it but, we did what we needed to do." He pulls his phone out of his pocket and flips it open to his gallery, scrolling to find a picture of her. He clicks on one of her dancing in Kurt's room, dressed in pajamas and her hair wild and crazy. Shes laughing, doing a silly move to the music, and Kurt's heart aches. He holds it out to them, showing them the picture.

"This is Brittany, the seer. I've known her since we were 5, we were in ballet together."

"You're from the future." Cordelia gasps, eyes wide. Kurt's slightly surprised she managed to reach that conclusion so quickly, but he supposes she's been building up to it for a long time.

"Yeah." Kurt nods, worried for a second about her reation. She seems to allow this to sink in for a moment before nodding as well, smiling shakily up at him.

"Tell us about them. The people on your walls." She asks. "They're important to you, and I want to know them."

Kurt blinks, staring wide eyed at her with his mouth hanging open. The request touches him, and it's so kind it's out of character for her. Willow thinks so too, sparing a moment to give her a stunned look.

Kurt clears his throat, bringing the phone back to his chest. He doesn't know where to start. Willow seems to notice this, and pipes up, "Who's the dark haired girl on your screen when you turn it on?"

"Santana. She's something special, grew up on the wrong side of town with a chip on her shoulder and a tongue of steel. She's fierce and confident and a hated eachother when a met. But now it's hard to live without her, Brittany and us, we were as thick as theives." Kurt flipped through the pictures to find a picture of Santana, laying on the sand at the beach. Her hair is loose and splayed around her, her dark skin covered by a red bikini. Sunglasses sit on the top of her head and she's smirking up at the camera, flipping it off. Both girls drink in the photo, and Cordelia laughs quietly.

"I think I would have liked her."

"You remind me of her. She was my Slayer, did you know? She was Buffy's age when she got her gifts, and the watcher's council tried to take her away for training. But she was my best friend, and she and Brittany had just started dating, so I stepped up and became the youngest watcher in history."

"You trained a Slayer?" Willow asks incredulously. Kurt nods, smiling.

"It was hard work. We were both students, and all three of us spent every night hunting down monsters. All three of us were also in cheerleading, and glee, most days I thought I would die from exhaustion." Kurt laughs, eyes welling up. He flicks the picture and finds one of Finn holding a football, wearing casual jeans and a tshirt, a smear of dirt on his cheek. It was taken in their backyard, he and Pick had been playing football back there while Kurt read in the hammock.

"This is my Stepbrother, Finn. We've only been family for a few months, but every day I wake up and expect to hear him singing in the kitchen, getting ready for school. He's the schools Quarterback, and he's dating the schools musical fanatic. He's a dork, lives video games and greasy pizza, and he loves to sing. Can't dance to save his life." A slide to the right and it's Rachel, belting out a song on stage in an empty auditorium. She's wearing one of her hideous sweaters, and her cheeks are flushed with emotion.

"Rachel, Finn's girlfriend. She's crazy, and annoying as hell. But she means well, she just had a habit of letting her ego and dreams crush everything else, and she's occasionally misguided. Wants to be the next Barbra Streisand, and she might make it." Cordelia takes one look at her clothes and flicks her eyes over to Willow, obviously noticing their clothes are unfortunately familiar.

They scroll through Quinn, Mike, Matt, Artie, Tina, and Mercedes before Cordelia makes an interested noise at a picture of Puck. Puck is sitting on the bleachers in an ACDC short and torn jeans. His guitar is on his lap and he's winking at the camera.

"He's cutee!" Cordelia says suggestively, waggling her eyebrows. Kurt turns a light shade of pink, avoiding Willow's curious gaze.

"Very. This is Noah, or as we all call him, Puck. He's on the football team, the schools notorious badass, and even though he's kinda a jerk he is trying to be better. He puts his foot in his mouth a lot, and he's often crude and flirty, but he'll stick up for you no matter the cost, and he's incredibly loyal. We were building up to something, until I had to leave." He sighs, smiling bitterly. He's mostly over Puck by now, it was nothing more than a crush, but he misses him. Misses all of them.

He doesn't notice Willow's sudden understanding, busy with Cordelia manning his phone and flipping through it more.  



End file.
